In Chinatown, an orange tower crane signals the rise of a new office building that will be among the first structures in the City of Los Angeles to employ mass timber construction.

Construction at 843 N Spring StreetUrbanize LA

Redcar Properties, the developer behind the new project at 843 N. Spring Street, is building a five-story structure 120,000 square feet of offices for rent above approximately 7,000 square feet of ground-floor retail space and subterranean parking for 141 vehicles.

Designed by Lever Architecture, 843 Spring will feature a steel frame with cross-laminated timber floors.

"A welcoming entry draws visitors upward, with a prominent central stair that connects Spring Street up to New High Street," reads a project description from the firm's website.  "The design splits the building into two sections, with a tiered vertical garden courtyard between the office wings to provide sectional variety that breaks down the building’s scale."

View of outdoor gardenLever Architecture

A representative of Redcar has indicated that 843 Spring is on pace for completion in mid-summer 2022.

The project is the largest Chinatown development by Redcar, following the restoration of several existing commercial buildings nearby  The company's other projects ground-up projects proposed and under-construction office buildings in Santa Monica, West Adams, and Culver City.

The 843 Spring Street site is also the latest in a recent string of new developments near Metro's Chinatown Station, including Trammell Crow Company subsidiary High Street Residential's 318-unit Llewellyn complex a block east and planned projects from Atlas Capital Group, as well as Townline and Forme Development.

843 N Spring StreetGoogle Maps

The 843 Spring office building is one of just a handful of developments employing mass timber construction in Los Angeles.  Non-profit developer Skid Row Housing Trust also plans to make use of the construction type for a proposed 14-story high-rise in Downtown, although that project has yet to break ground.